Why Florida State Is Such A Juggernaut

Running back Karlos
Williams is poised for a breakout year.Jeff Gammons/Getty Images

Going into the first weekend of the college football season,
Florida State is the undisputed No. 1 team in the country.

Like Alabama just a few years
ago, USC in the mid-2000s, and Miami in the early-2000s, the
Seminoles have achieved juggernaut status in the preseason due to
a combination of star power, past dominance, and recruiting
prowess.

The simple reason
why they're expected to be so good is experience. They return 15
starters from the team that won the national championship last
year. That includes Jameis Winston — reigning Heisman
winner, consensus
No. 1 player in the 2015 NFL Draft, and perhaps the best player in college
football. It's not just that these guys have high-pressure
experience under their belts, it's that they're really, really
good players.

The Seminoles are so stacked with talent because they have been
so good at recruiting. Since coach Jimbo Fisher took over in
2010, FSU has five straight top-10 recruiting classes, based on
ESPN's rankings. It had the No. 1 class in 2011, the No. 2 class
in 2012, and the No. 3 class in 2014. As Florida has regressed
under Will Muschamp and Miami continues to search for stability,
FSU has taken over one of the nation's most vibrant recruiting
hot beds.

The players Florida State lost to the NFL this spring are being
replaced by guys who are potential NFL prospects in their own
rights.

Against a schedule that features just two top-25 opponents
(Clemson and Notre Dame) and zero top-15 opponents, Florida State
is going to be heavily favored in every single game in which it
plays.

Jameis Winston can do things like this:

Karlos Williams, who will get the bulk of the carries this year,
is ridiculously fast:

FSU destroyed everything that moved in the regular season last
year. Nine of its 13 wins came by at least 30 points. Until the
national championship game, no teams got within two touchdowns of
the Seminoles.

While the laws of regression tell us that things will be more
difficult this year, Florida State is absolutely stacked.